The Other

Mehdi Sharafi

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The Other

“The Other” is a series of paintings on cardboard, created over approximately three years. It consists of three parts and contains numerous pieces. The series is based on subjective elements. In “The Other,” we encounter the analysis of subjective images created using destructive working methods; as if the image emerged from history and became contemporary. “The Other” explores the inside; and the elements, figures, and destructions of different layers within. Each layer can have its own spontaneous narration. “The Other” resides within us; in an eternal dialogue with us.

In “The Other,” I have attempted to develop a new painting process on cardboard, with an eclectic use of different techniques: as if all the elements emerged from the destruction of color stains, finding form and identity. Colors, surfaces, and lights define their structure, based on the underlying color. This process is repeated multiple times to yield the final image.

“The Other” is the result of the eclecticism of different pictorial spaces, each bearing an atmosphere, an element, a narrative, or a situation. In “The Other,” we encounter a dialogue between two or more frames. We view pictorial spaces from different angles, participating in the nesting of their different components. “The Other” is the border between movement and stillness; entanglement and separation. I have tried to exploit different possibilities of the pictorial space and the painting medium to create such a visual atmosphere.

As the series is entirely composed of subjective images, I have attempted to use techniques possessing an internal, anachronic, and unknown quality. It is as if each element entered our world at the moment of its introduction to the pictorial space. Thus, I aimed for a creation process with similar characteristics: different and unknown.

In “The Other,” each frame is created independently. However, its existence is ultimately defined by the placement of other frames beside it. In fact, it is this other that participates in its identity, prompting a redefinition of its position and status.

The Other includes more than 40 works. You can see examples of the works of it below.

Part I.